US Embassy clarifies that it had made no such announcement and the news created unnecessary confusion
Social media was abuzz yesterday following reports that the United States had listed Malaysia as among the countries in its Visa Waiver Programme (VWP).
News of this was being shared widely on social media and many seemed pleased with this ‘announcement’.
However, it was later revealed that news of the alleged waiver was fake and the issue was since clarified by the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
An embassy spokesman said the articles were all fake and that the US State Department had made no recent announcement on the Visa Waiver Programme.
The website in question was News-AP, which was probably trying to associate itself with international news agency, the Associated Press (AP). It claimed that the US State Department had added 10 new countries to its VWP, including Malaysia.
“If we were to make such a major announcement, we would definitely post it on our official website and various social media platforms,” said the embassy.
The embassy also urged Malaysians to be extra cautious where they obtain information from.
The embassy added that they did not know the motive of those who wrote the fake article and that it merely caused unnecessary confusion among the public.
Checks later revealed that the fake news site was apparently only set up on April 22.